NW Twin Cities

Gov. Tim Walz's emergency powers have been voted in favor of being ended by Sen. Scott Newman (R-Hutchinson) and the Minnesota Senate for the fourth time. 

“We are well, well past the ‘emergency’ portion of the outbreak,” Newman said in a press release from the Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus. “We have been managing the crisis well. We no longer are worried about PPE or lack of ICU beds. We know how to manage the crisis and we know how to stay safe. The infection rate is still low and has remained stable for months."

Walz has had his emergency powers since March 13, which is the longest Minnesota has been under peacetime emergency in history. All Republican Senators and one Democratic Senator voted in favor of putting an end to Walz's powers, making the vote 36-31.

“The founders never intended for governors to be able to keep an iron grip on emergency powers in perpetuity. It is time for the governor to give up his powers and start working in good faith with the legislature on the best path forward – not just for beating the virus, but for our economic vitality," Newman said in the Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus press release.